Before JetBlue was even a speck in anyone's imagination, American could have had all the slots they ever could have wanted at Long Beach. The fact that they are now 'interested' in LGB at just the precise time that another carrier is smacks of AA's arrogance. Thankfully the FAA will see this too.

A serious concern that I have is that if we're not careful, a precedent for 'slot locking' airports will be set. Specifically, that in the future, airlines will be able to purchase, hold, and not use slots in order to keep new entrants from being able to get into a given market.

While in the short term, a decision in favor of what jetBlue did might help new entrant/low fare carriers, in the long run, it could end up being a very nasty thing.